I always take stories like this with a grain of salt but, in fairness, the World Economic Forum, is not a radical group so this probably does reflect a reality.
PARIS - Canada has plunged 13 spots in a global "gender gap index," slipping behind the United States in the latest annual analysis released Wednesday by the Geneva-based World Economic Forum. Canada now stands 31st out of 130 countries analyzed by WEF, which since 2006 has been producing an index looking at the gap between men and women in areas such as income, education, health and political participation. The U.S. moved up four spots to 27th place, marking the first time it has ranked ahead of Canada.
Norway, Finland and Sweden are ranked at the top of the index, with the gender gap score for all three at just over 80 per cent (100 per cent would represent overall equality). Canada's gender score is 71 per cent. The worst total is Yemen's 46 per cent.
Canada's overall score fell by less than one per cent, but its place in the standings dropped more dramatically because so many other countries have made larger strides, said report co-author Saadia Zahidi. "They've skipped ahead while Canada has fallen backwards," she told Canwest News Service.
She said Canada is one of the world's stronger performers in three of the four major categories - economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment and health. But the dismal representation of women in the House of Commons has driven down Canada's ranking. She said Canada's "worrying" level of political participation in Parliament and the federal cabinet puts it in 60th place out of the 130 countries ( . . . )
Read the whole article at:
http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/story.html?id=a819af3c-1d2b-4d63-8421-1f52ce46a6a8
James Morton
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